Intersil Corporation has announced plans to extend their radiation tolerant portfolio to include Gallium Nitride (GaN) power conversion ICs for satellites and other harsh environment applications.
They will couple their radiation hardened FET drivers with GaN FETs to deliver performance that leapfrogs existing products that rely on traditional high-rel FET technologies. GaN provides better conductivity and switching characteristics that enable several system benefits, including a reduction in system power losses.
According to Philip Chesley, senior vice president of Precision Products at Intersil - They have decades of experience developing state-of-the-art radiation tolerant devices and a long heritage supplying space flight applications. When combined with the demonstrated ability of GaN devices to operate reliably under harsh environmental conditions, they will provide customers with a far superior alternative to existing FET technology.
Intersil is collaborating with Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC), the first to introduce enhancement-mode gallium-nitride-on-silicon (eGaN) FETs as power MOSFET replacements, and a provider of enhancement-mode gallium nitride power transistors. Intersil's new products based on the eGaN technology will be sampling this summer.
